This project provides LED feedback when an email is received. It uses a 4d-micro-USB module from Dontronics to interface serially and provide power to a Picaxe 08M. The PIC can control color and brightness of a RGB LED. The feedback is given by seven colors of the LED. The code is python script and picaxe basic, which he’s posted.
Nice thing.. I’ll build something like this :-)
Have something just like this with the LED taped to the corner of my screen, very handy. I built mine using an arduino, with the “SimpleMessageSystem” on it. That coupled with some python using libserial and libgmail. It’s really nice being alerted off-screen for some reason!
Wow that usb module is awesome. But for 24 dollars i think i would rather get a mini Arduino for 19. But for stuff you want to put your own micro controller on it’s pretty cool.
sweet! I was just thinking of making something similar the other day, as a notifier for IRC chats.
test test why dont my comments show
Now they do when I change my screen name, huh?
I actully really like this one, it’s within my capabilities, and quite useful!
can someone answer why there are 2 resistors on the serial in pin? why not 1?
@jme: To be honest, I built this long enough ago to have forgotten why there were two resistors! I suspect that they were in there for programming the Picaxe (i.e. the 22k is a current limiting resistor and the 10k a “pull-down” resistor) and vaguely recall that for some reason I had a problem when I tried to remove the “redundant” 22k resistor…
For me this is more usefull cause it shows how many messages are waiting:
http://www.jpelectron.com/readme/pop3led.asp
uses a big 7 segment display:
http://www.vellemanusa.com/us/enu/product/view/?id=522041
Do you guys have a recommendation section, i’d like to suggest some stuff
Hi all,
I’m currently finishing work on a similar device, but have extended the python code with following capabilities:
- checks for twitter updates
- listens to “new message” alerts issued by pidgin
- listens to “new email” alerts from thunderbird
(thunderbird needs dBus extensions for this)
When some new msg is received, a system notification appears for some seconds, a LED is lit with the corresponding color and a tray icon with the symbol for twitter, email or pidgin appears. Clicking on this tray icon switches off the LED again.
I have set up thunderbird to also poll my favorite RSS feeds every ten minutes and forward all new articles to my local inbox – so I get notifications too when the RSS feeds are updated..
Now working on making things small enough to fit inside my eee1000h netbook…
:)
cheers
Very interesting .. thanks you
can someone answer why there are 2 resistors on the serial in pin? why not 1?
To be honest, I built this long enough ago to have forgotten why there were two resistors! I suspect that they were in there for programming the Picaxe (i.e. the 22k is a current limiting resistor and the 10k a “pull-down” resistor) and vaguely recall that for some reason I had a problem when I tried to remove the “redundant” 22k resistor…
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doesn’t look like a bunny yet